Moments
by jackxnina15
Summary: A series of moments Chase and Cameron share in a special hiding place. They're chronological but different amounts of time passes between chapters. Now complete!
1. Sunrise

**A/N: This is set sometime during the "microwave pizza" stage...between Insensitive and 517ish. I love Chase and I think Cameron's a little insane but this fic is nice to both of them. I don't know yet whether I'm going to leave it as a one-shot or add on more chapters like this of moments in their relationship.**

"The patient's been recovering for an hour, I think we can breathe a little easier now," Chase announced, entering the Diagnostics conference room.

"Finally! I'm going to do my breathing at home. Since you two enjoy taking the night shift so much, you can stay and just use this room instead of the janitor's closet. Don't forget to check on the sick girl once or twice." Foreman switched his lab coat for his winter one and was out the door in seconds.

Cameron sighed and rubbed her temples. Things had been a little tense the last couple days, since Foreman realized she hadn't been kidding about her and Chase's activities last time they were left to monitor a patient. "When does her IV bag need replaced?"

"I can handle it," Chase insisted. "Why don't you head home too?" Not that he would mind following Foreman's advice, but she looked exhausted and he needed sleep as well.

"I'm scheduled in the ER at 7:00 tomorrow morning." She glanced at her watched and grimaced. "I mean this morning...7:00 is in three hours. I'll get more sleep if I stay here."

"You sure?" he asked, gesturing at the near-barren room. "Not a lot of comfortable places to nap in here." Last week, House had thrown out all the furniture, protesting to Cuddy that Diagnostics was long overdue for new. Cameron dropped her head into her hands, frustrated, and suddenly a smile spread over Chase's face. "Come with me," he said, taking her arm.

"Where are we going?" She looked less than enthusiastic. "I'm too tired tonight, Chase."

"I know. Just trust me...you won't regret this." The sparkle in his eyes convinced her to follow him out of the conference room.

Chase slid his fingers down to intertwine with hers as they walked toward the stairwell door. They weren't really a holding-hands type of couple, but this morning he was glad she was too tired to care. She turned to go down the stairs, but he stopped and tugged her to the side going up. "Where are we going?" she asked again. "The only thing up from here is...the roof?"

"You have to swear not to tell Cuddy about this," he grinned. "And you can't tell House you know, he'd kill me." Cameron looked perplexed as Chase pulled her through the door leading outside. "House is stupid, yes, but even he wouldn't throw away hundreds of dollars of hospital property. There's always a chance Cuddy will decide she's had enough of his stunts." He lead her across the roof till they were above a section of the building that was under renovation.

"You mean the furniture? He put it on the roof?" Chase's roundabout explanation wasn't clearing anything up.

"Not exactly." He turned to her as the reached the wall of a taller portion of the building, where scaffolding lead over the edge of the roof they were standing on. Peeking over the rail, Cameron saw what he was getting at. All of their old furniture was piled on a balcony one story lower.

She laughed, then gasped as he gracefully swung over the rail to stand on a ledge on the other side, still clutching the metal. "Chase!"

"Relax," he grinned, lowering himself to the balcony below. "See, easy. Come on!"

"Are you CRAZY?" She peered down at him incredulously. "I'm not jumping over the edge of a building just to get to an old couch!"

"But think of all the memories we have with this couch." He teased, raising his eyebrows suggestively, and she couldn't help but smile. "Seriously, though, it's perfectly safe. You can't fall further than here!"

Cameron considered it. He was right, really - the balcony was wide enough there was no danger of missing it. Plus, she was so tired she actually _would_ do anything for an hour-long nap, and this was certainly the most peaceful place in the hospital. "If I kill myself doing this..."

He laughed. "Don't worry, I'm a doctor." Before she could talk herself out of it, she swung one leg over the railing, then carefully followed it with the other. Clinging for dear life, she froze for a moment till she felt his hand on her leg. "I'm right here," he said, his voice suddenly softer. She slowly straightened her arms and lowered herself till his arms wrapped around her waist, then she squeezed her eyes shut and let go.

As she hit the floor a foot down and fell backwards into his chest, she let out a relieved sighed and turned to him. "I swear to God, Chase, you are insane. How did you know House put this here in the first place?"

He smirked. "You do realize House is a cripple? It's not like he carried it up by himself! Wilson needed a hand, so House made me swear not to tell anyone he wasn't actually taking all this to the dump."

Cameron laughed and looked around. Through the glass doors, she could see a section of the building completely sectioned off for renovations. "This was pretty genius," she conceded. "No one will notice for at least another month."

"Want to know the best part?" Chase said, pulling her down on their couch with him. "We're on the east side of the building. The sunrise is beautiful from here."

She settled against him willingly. "Do you come up here often?" This was a side of him she rarely saw.

"Yeah," he admitted, "it's a good place to get away. I used to sit on the roof, but there's actually a lot of traffic. Even House hides out there sometimes...from Cuddy, us, angry patients or family members. But there's no way he's getting down here."

They sat in silence for a moment, till Cameron tilted her head to look up at him. "I'm not still in love with him, you know. I never was." Her tone was almost gentle, not confrontational like it often turned when discussing this. "It was just a schoolgirl crush."

He paused, surprised she would bring up what was usually a sensitive subject between them. "I believe you," he said quietly, tugging her a little closer. Her head fell comfortably to his broad shoulder, and within minutes he felt her breathing become even and her body go limp.

Chase was glad she'd let it drop and the conversation hadn't become too serious. They were both tired, and there was a good chance he would slip and say something he shouldn't - like _I love you, Allison._ He sighed as he realized just calling her by her first name would probably freak her out a little. _How is it that we sneak around in janitors' closets, spend the night together, and share moments like this, and she still doesn't see how I feel?_ Was her vulnerability this morning just because she was exhausted, or could she want something more between them too? Usually he was the one to bring up House, and she would angrily deny any feelings for him, then tell him it was none of his business because they weren't in a relationship. But this morning she'd made a point to tell him - not defensively, but almost reassuringly - that she was honestly over House. Maybe she was saying it was OK for Chase to care?

She shifted against him and sighed in her sleep, and Chase told his mind to shut up and enjoy the moment. As the sun peeked over the horizon, he rested his head on hers and drifted off.

**Please review! This is only my second House fic so I'd like to know how it is!**


	2. Refuge

**Author's Note: I didn't know where I was going with this story, but thanks to an idea from luvhouse5 I decided to make it into a series of moments they share in their little hiding spot. I know of two more I want to write, but I'd like to have five total, so any suggestions for other moments would be great! Anyway, this one is set near the end of season 3 after Act Your Age, but I don't know how exactly the timeline works with one of the events. The important thing, though, is that it's sometime during the "Tuesday" stage.**

**Disclaimer: (Do I still have to put this on every chapter?) I don't own House, obviously.**

"Cameron. Where's the wombat?"

She glared at him - he knew perfectly well she and Chase were no longer involved. "I don't know, House. I've barely seen him all day." The team had no current case, so Cameron and Foreman had spend most of the morning sitting around the Diagnostics conference room drinking coffee and working Sudoku puzzles.

"Well, time's a-wasting!" House said, although they were all aware there was nothing to do. "Foreman - take this and go do my clinic hours." The neurologist rolled his eyes as he caught the name tag, but he was so bored he didn't even complain. "Cameron, go locate the sulking Brit."

"Why would he be sulking? And what do _you_ have to do?" She didn't really know why she bothered; it wasn't like she was going to get a straight answer.

"_I_ will be making good use of our hard-earned new furniture." He settled on the recently purchased couch with a self-satisfied smirk. House's latest power play with Cuddy had been fairly successful - she budgeted him enough money to replace about half of the furniture he told her he'd thrown out. This was exactly what he wanted, and much to Cuddy's frustration, he promptly brought back in much of the old to supplement the new. "As to Chase's issue...I'm surprised you don't know."

Cameron was momentarily stumped by his lack of wisecrack - then it hit her. "Oh..." She turned and quickly left the conference room.

_Idiot!_ She berated herself. _Even House remembered! How could you have forgotten the anniversary of his father's death?_ Chase rarely talked about him, and she knew the two hadn't been close, but he'd still taken the news hard. At the time she didn't know him well enough to offer much comfort, and through their unemotional "relationship" she'd never ever brought up his father. It made sense, though, for this day to be a hard one for him.

_Where would he go?_ She knew he was here. He stopped in that morning just long enough to find out they had absolutely nothing to do, then disappeared. Neither she nor Foreman gave much thought to his absence; they assumed he was hanging around the ER or NICU or flirting with the Peds nurses again. Cameron headed down to the Intensive Care floor, although she doubted she'd find him there. After a quick sweep of that and Pediatrics, she paused to think. _Locker room?_ Feeling a sense of urgency, she opted to descend the two flights of stairs instead of waiting for an elevator. Ignoring the fact that it was a men's locker room, she pushed open the door and was disappointed to find it empty. _Where else is there in this hospital to be alone? Basement...cafeteria...morgue... - of course!_ There was only one place she could think of Chase would seek out as a refuge.

Knowing she had a long way to go, Cameron still chose to take the stairs. She nearly ran the four flights back to Diagnostics, but instead of turning out of the stairwell there, she ascended one more level. Emerging into the gloomy drizzle on the roof, she prayed she was right.

Only some of the team's old furniture had gone back to the conference room - a few pieces remained where House had hidden them because he was, of course, too lazy to move them until he had to. The renovation project blocking off one wing of the top floor had reached a standstill when hospital funds were needed elsewhere, so no one was likely to notice a ratty stray couch abandoned on the balcony. Cameron crossed to the section of the roof above the construction area and peeked over the edge.

She breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar blonde head cradled in muscular arms. "Chase?" she called tentatively, and he looked up and sighed.

"Did you tell House?"

"No." She knew he'd rather their boss not know the location of his hiding place. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," he said, but his tone and posture said otherwise. Resigned to confronting her mild fear of heights once again, she slipped off her impractical heels and swung one leg over the rail. Halfway over, she found herself straining to reach the ledge below without loosening her death grip on the metal. She heard a rueful chuckle from below, and his hand guided her foot to its hold. "I've got you," he assured her, and she eased herself down until he steadied her and she was standing on the balcony.

"Thanks," she said, slightly embarrassed. She leaned back and studied his face. "House sent me to find you."

"Figures - " His expression clearly said he'd hoped she came just because she cared.

"But I'm not going to tell him I did." He bit his lip, debating what she meant by this. She broke eye contact and stepped over to the familiar couch, tugging his hand as she passed so he'd sit down next to her. After a moment, she looked back at him and touched his arm gently. "I'm sorry. I know it's hard."

Chase stared at his hands and paused before speaking. "I didn't even know him. There's no reason I should mourn the fact he's been gone a year - I didn't see him for ten years before that."

"Grief isn't logical," she murmured. "Don't let anyone - especially yourself - tell you what you should or shouldn't be feeling."

He nodded slowly, gazing out into the melancholy clouds as regretful tears welled up in his eyes. She slipped an arm around him and felt him shake with silent sobs.

**Reviews please! And I promise the next one will be happier.**


	3. Change

**A/N: Yay next chapter! I'm sure you can figure this out but it's set before the beginning of season 4. Fanfiction's login thing has been messed up for a few days so it's taken me a while to get this up. It's just supposed to be cute and fun so please review!**

Chase sighed as he slammed the locker and grabbed his bag and coat. He was realizing it would take time to get used to the pace of the hospital again. His first day back as a surgeon left him exhausted. The extra hour added to his shift by complications during a routine appendectomy hadn't helped, and now he just wanted to find Cameron and escape.

They came in together that first day because their shifts were scheduled for the same times, and he felt bad for making her wait. Deciding the best place to look was the ICU, he made his way there and stopped at the main desk. "Is Dr. Cameron around here?" he asked a familiar-looking nurse.

"No, she got off about an hour ago. Assuming you're Dr. Chase, she told us you'd probably be looking for her. She said to tell you she'd wait upstairs." Chase frowned, confused. _Upstairs? Surely not in Diagnostics..._Then he realized his mistake and an amused smile spread across his face. He thanked the nurse and turned toward the stairs.

As he emerged into the warm outdoor air on the roof, Chase smirked at the thought that House had never figured out this hiding place. The only person he'd ever shared it with was Cameron, because he was more than willing to have her join him there. He reached the corner of the roof, where the rail met a wall of a taller portion of the building. The familiar figure sitting below didn't hear him coming; so he stayed silent as he vaulted over the rail, just barely touching the ledge on the other side before dropping gracefully to the balcony.

She gasped as he landed next her. "Rob! Be careful!"

He laughed. "You know I'm fine, but how in the world did you get down here?" Wary of heights, she usually eased herself halfway over and let him help her down the rest of the way.

"More safely than you." She pretended to be indignant. "And someone moved our couch!"

"Damn." He grinned thinking of all the memories they had with that old piece of furniture. "It had to happen sometime...but they still aren't finished with this project?" Chase indicated the still deserted east wing inside the glass doors to their hideaway.

"I think they're just using it for storage now," she giggled. "It's been what, two years?"

"Hey, I'm not complaining. When that's done we might have to start using the door instead of climbing up and down, and that wouldn't be nearly as fun."

She rolled her eyes. "You're such a ten-year-old."

"But you love me for it." He tossed his jacket next her, copying her strategy of using it as a cushion over the hard concrete, and slid down the wall to sit. Drooping an arm comfortable over her shoulder, he asked, "So? How was your first day back?" He felt her slight sigh.

"It was busy. The ER is so fast-paced, and I hate just deciding which department a patient should go to and sending them on their way. The only ones I even treat are the ones dying, fast."

"So you don't like the ER because you don't get to know the patients?" He paused, then grinned. "In that case, I know someone who's in the wrong specialty."

She smiled too, grateful he'd made such a casual reference to their old boss. He was bound to come up, and she knew it Chase was still sensitive about him. He did trust her and believed she really loved him, but there was always the memory of being what she settled for when she couldn't have House. They'd talked around, but not about, the subject when Cuddy offered them jobs back at PPTH. Cameron knew he was a little uncomfortable about her working so close to House again, and there would always be a part of her longing for the older doctor's approval in everything, but she'd grown up in the last months. She was happy with Chase, and she wanted him to know he wasn't her second choice.

"Did you see him today?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, but he didn't see me," Chase smirked. "I was observing a surgery that he barged into - probably saved the woman's life, of course. He was so wrapped up in it he didn't even notice me."

"I wonder if he has a new team yet," she mused.

"Doubt it! I can just picture Cuddy trying to convince him to interview all kinds of the 'best and the brightest,' fresh out of med school. And who the bloody hell would even consider staying after they met him? I think we are the only three people on earth with that weird strain of masochism."

She laughed. "There have to be other freaks out there."

"If he had a new team, he wouldn't need cases for months - he'd have three brand-new puzzles sitting right in front of him."

"True. He'd have go through it all again...making copies of their keys, guessing and deducing at their backgrounds till he hit on something, finding something embarrassing to constantly bring up with each of them."

"Don't forget nicknames! Coming up with something sufficiently mocking or derogatory for each would take at least a week, especially if he didn't have the racial aspect like with me and Foreman." They were both shaking with laughter now, and Chase commented, "It's funny how we're entertained by his insanity when we _don't_ work for him anymore."

"That's probably why. I'd love to just observe the process of breaking in a new set of ducklings."

"I think I'd almost feel bad...like we should give them some kind of advice for dealing with him."

"Like anybody knows how to deal with him! Remember when we first got our fellowships? Wilson told us the only way of avoiding his abuse was to quit."

"And none of us did," Chase pointed out.

She paused, her mood suddenly more serious. "Sometimes I wonder if that was a mistake."

He glanced down at her, not sure what to make of her quiet admission. "You regret working for House?"

"No, I guess not. It made me a better doctor. What I regret is becoming so emotionally involved; letting him get to me like that."

"That's what he does, Ally." They sat in silence for a moment, then Chase ran his hand through her hair and titled her head so she looked up at him. "It's okay, you know. We can handle being here and still keep things from going back to how they used to be. Working for House didn't just make you a better doctor, it made you stronger. In the end, you knew when to stand up to him and get the hell out of there."

"It wasn't hard to know. You might have noticed I quit the day you left?" she teased.

"Of course, that's the other reason you can't regret taking the fellowship. Where else would you find a dreamy Australian doctor who's also madly in love with you?" Laughing, she leaned in to kiss him.

**One more chapter coming soon. Reviews would be great!**


	4. Release

**A/N: Sorry for the delay; here's the last chapter! I'm kind of sad this is over because it was lots of fun to write =(. I'll probably do some more Chase/Cameron but not until spring break (in a week) because I have a lot of school stuff to do before then!**

**Anyway, this chapter is set a little over a year from the current (season 5) episodes, and Chase and Cameron are married.**

"Ready?" Chase asked quietly as she slipped out of the locker room, bag on her shoulder. She hesitated a moment, and he realized what she wanted and answered her unspoken question. "Of course. Let's go." Hand in hand, they headed for the stairwell, but instead of going down toward the hospital's main doors, they took the left flight of stairs up. A sense of almost nostalgia overtook him as they came to the diagnostics wing, and he squeezed her hand firmly. Knocking on the familiar office door because the blinds were closed, he stuck his head inside. "House?"

Just like always, House sat with his feet on his desk, twirling his cane and staring pensively into space. He said nothing. Chase stepped inside and pulled Cameron behind him, waiting for her to speak. "Just thought we'd stop and say goodbye, House."

He glanced at her and nodded, casual sarcasm evident on his face. "Well, see ya."

Chase scowled at him behind Cameron's head, willing him not to hurt her, just this once. But House, of course, pretended not to notice and went back to his cane. She took a breath like she was going to speak, but suddenly turned and left the office. In the moment before Chase followed her, when he looked back at House and their eyes met, there was something like regret there along with the sadness and permanent pain. House held his eyes until he turned to go after Cameron.

There was nothing he could think to say that she didn't already know. The whole day had been spent saying goodbye to their friends and acquaintances at PPTH, but they hadn't seen House at all. When Cuddy found and hugged them both, congratulating them and wishing them luck, she told them he was hiding out for the day and would come talk to them on his own terms. Chase had prayed all day that he would - it just didn't seem right to leave PPTH permanently without some kind of closure regarding the man they'd learned to both hate and admire over the years. He knew House didn't do well with goodbyes, or any emotion, but he'd hoped for some recognition of the fact that two of the original ducklings were leaving.

When he caught up with Cameron just entering the stairwell, there was nothing he could do but take her wrist and pull her into his arms. She stayed for a moment, then laced her fingers through his and turned away. Tugging him behind her, she started up the last flight of stairs to the roof. He paused a minute. "Are you sure you're up to climbing around these days?"

She laughed. "Rob, I'm fine! You can't start with the overprotectiveness already! Besides, you're the one who's always telling me it's perfectly safe." He reluctantly conceded and followed her.

The couple emerged onto the roof just as the sun began to drop below the horizon. Turning away from the painted sky, they wandered slowly to their corner. Cameron paused and leaned against the brick wall, then gave him a slightly embarrassed smile. "You go first?"

"Of course," he grinned. She always had been a little afraid of heights and liked to have him on the balcony to help her down. He swung gracefully over the railing and lowered himself till he was two feet from the concrete, then let go. He heard her draw in a quick breath and looked up, amused, when he landed. "Still perfectly safe," he assured her. "Come on...but be careful."

She eased a leg over the rail, movements slightly more cautious than usual, then brought the other to join it. Crouched on the four inch ledge, hands clamped vise-like to the metal bars in front of her, she slowly walked her feet down the wall till she felt his hands on her hips. Only when his arms circled her waist did she let go and land lightly on the balcony.

This time it was him that let out a sigh of relief. Leaving his arms around her, he rubbed her stomach and asked, "You okay?"

"Are you talking to me or little Robbie?" she teased.

"Both of you! And it could be a little Allie," he reminded her. At her three-month checkup last week, they'd decided not to find out the gender of the baby.

Chase slid down against the wall till he was resting on the concrete, then opened his arms for her to come sit with him. She settled between his legs and leaned back comfortably on his chest. After a moment of peaceful silence, she asked, "You're sure we're doing the right thing?"

Concerned, he turned her slightly to see her face. "Only if you are. Having second thoughts?"

A split second pause, then she said, "No, I know this is best. An ER nurse mother and Intensivist father would make for one lonely child. But I don't want you to be bored teaching..."

"I'll be fine," he assured her. "Actually, I'm looking forward to the slower pace. No way I would want to leave you and our baby home for the crazy hours I work now." Two months ago, when they found out, the couple began thinking about a lifestyle change. When Chase was offered a teaching position at the Cambridge College of Medicine, they decided it was a perfect fit and Cameron would stay home at least until their child started in the excellent Cambridge local school.

"It's so strange leaving after all these years...and this time we aren't coming back. Nearly everyone we know is somehow associated with this hospital." Silence reigned for a moment as they both let it sink in that once they walked out the doors, it would all be over. No more quick meals grabbed in the noisy cafeteria and no more bets based on fifth-hand gossip. No more traditional after-work drinks with Foreman in the booth they'd used for six years. No more being sought out by House when he was desperate and knew they were the only ones who believed in his insane methods.

Chase heard a sniff and realized she was crying as he felt a droplet on his hand. "Oh, Allie..."

"I'm okay, I promise. You know me...always the emotional one. I'll miss it, but I almost think it's time. We've both gotten all we can from this place." He knew she was referring back to House's remarks when they both left the first time. "We're both better doctors than we were, and I'm less of a wuss now," she laughed.

He snorted. "You're not the only one. If we could handle him for so long, we can handle anything."

"And the best thing I got from this hospital I'm taking with me." She smiled and he wrapped his arms tighter around her. "I just wish..." Chase scowled again, wishing House could have taken a break from being an ass for just one second to say goodbye.

"I know. But of course that's how he is...Cuddy warned us this wasn't easy for him."

"It was so easy for him to let us go the first time, why would it be any different now?"

"Sometimes I think he knew we'd be back," Chase mused. "He probably saw that Cuddy would offer us both jobs, and Foreman too."

"If he knew we'd be back then, he should know we won't now." They were quiet again, reflecting on the one thing they both wanted before leaving PPTH for the last time.

Chase was startled nearly ten minutes later by a raindrop in his hair. "Damn," he growled.

"What?" She looked confused.

"It's starting to rain." Another drip.

"Really? The sky is perfectly clear."

He looked up and saw she was right. "I could have sworn I felt..." Then a steady stream of water poured down on his head, splashing onto her. "What the hell?!" Spluttering, they scrambled to their feet - and saw the source of the "rain."

"House!" He stood at the edge of the roof, holding out an empty water bottle.

"Oops...Who would have guessed I'd find you here?" Chase rolled his eyes, wondering how long ago House had discovered this hiding place. They should have known there was no way to keep a secret from him.

Seeing Cameron was carefully silent, not willing to let down her guard again, Chase spoke. "Did you want something, House?"

The older man leaned against the rail, propped on his elbows. "I just wanted to say..." Cameron looked up suddenly, hearing the change in his tone. "Good luck." A pause. "I know you'll be fine. You've both...grown a lot."

Slightly shocked by this out-of-character encouragement, Cameron just gazed up silently. Chase responded for both, "Thank you. That means a lot coming from you."

"I'm going to be without an ER attending to supply me with cases and a surgeon who will take my word that every insane procedure I suggest is necessary. I'll...miss you."

They knew how hard this awkward admission was for him. Cameron finally found her voice again. "We'll miss you too." She held his gaze for a moment more. "Goodbye, House."

He simply nodded before pulling away from the rail. They stood and listened to his familiar uneven gait till the door opened and he was gone. Then Chase wrapped Cameron in his arms once more, and she clung to him for just a moment. "I'm ready to go," she said, satisfied now. He boosted her to the ledge and followed, then they walked together out the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital's front doors for the last time.

**And so ends my first multichapter House fic. Please review!**


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